Happy Friday everyone! It’s hard to believe the USA is turning 250 years old when she barely looks a day over 230! Where does the time go? If you’re looking to kick off the celebrations early, we have a special concert picked out for you! But if you’re just here for book or movie recommendations, we’ve got a few of those for you this week as well!

Bay Atlantic Symphony Presents an All-American Musical Tribute

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America with this special free performance by the Bay Atlantic Symphony. To be held at 7pm in Avalon Elementary School Gymnasium on Monday, June 29th, the concert will chart our history—from our independence and the liberty bell, through the Civil War and Lincoln’s immortal words, industrialization, and the experience of immigrants who shaped our country as it highlights the music that help shaped our nation. – Sean Farrell

The Children by Melissa Albert

A bit surreal and atmospheric, this story follows an adult Guinevere, whose mother wrote a very famous children’s series based on her and her brother Ennis’ fairy tale adventures in a make-believe place. Or, at least that’s what she believes until she begins to uncover more about her childhood in the isolated Vermont farmhouse. The story takes some sinister turns, and while I wouldn’t classify this as true horror, the story does bend to the eerie and fantastic. – Kara Buono

Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Erika Waller

This was an Instagram “must read” that did not disappoint! Three strong female protagonists—each with unique, unrelated storylines—have their life circumstances woven together by fate with threads of friendship, love, compassion and loss binding them together. The sometimes smallness of the world as people age, combined with the uncertainty of a twenty-something leaving the safety and love of her parents for another country to start a career, combined with the selflessness of sisterhood and struggles of single parenthood, really make this a story with a bit of appeal for all ages. It really drove home the themes of how love and friendship can evolve when we are least expecting them to, irrespective of age. I enjoyed this very much and highly recommend it. – Lynne Florio

Scarborn

Director Paweł Maślona’a Polish historical-action saga is a pleasant surprise. Following characters with a host of competing and complimentary interests during the tumultuous Spring of 1794 and pulling obvious influence from the latter works of Quentin Tarantino (though without all the visual flourishes), this is a pretty relentlessly involving story. It’s a little confusing at the beginning, but once it gets going the suspense builds and builds, becoming pleasantly unbearable before the final bit of madness finally comes. A darkly comic thrill ride with some thought-provoking parallels between the various ways humans have always been cruel to anyone seen as different. – SF

The Kings of Kearney by Navessa Allen

Originally written in 2021, this story of an Air Force Veteran, Krista, and Jakob, an Army Vet turned biker gang member, has a solid storyline. Krista finds herself in the middle of a possible drug ring at the care facility where her Gran stays and Jakob doesn’t like people intruding–on his turf or his girl. Fans of Allen’s Into Darkness series will be pleased with the signature witty banter and romance. This doesn’t feel as polished as Lights Out, but it’s a great read if you like the author’s other stories or are looking for a tough biker to cuddly bear romance. – KB

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Cover photo by Imre Tomosvari on Unsplash.